The angel looked up
from the scene before her to stare at her counterpart with narrowed
eyes. The demon blinked innocently.

"I'm almost
positive something else was supposed to happen," the
angel insisted, turning her gaze briefly back down to the world
below.

"Are you unhappy
with the result?"

"What? Oh,
heavens no. It's just..." the angel trailed off. "It
doesn't sit right. I can't quite put my finger on it..." as she
spoke, she stood and wandered away from the parlor table towards the
Library, where the demon had left her writing things. Her
counterpart sat for several minutes, quietly finishing the last of
her cream soda, before following.

Kiwi was shuffling
loose papers around, reading a sentence here, a paragraph there.
When she noticed Apple she looked up and shoved the papers in her
face. "Here, look, see? I was right. It's because you didn't
finish it all the way. You know it's dangerous to leave
stories unfinished!"

Apple blinked calmly at
the papers presented to her, glanced over the last few paragraphs,
and shrugged. "But it all turned out alright, and that's what
matters, isn't it? The princess and the queen get to live
Happily Ever After."

Kiwi frowned. "Yes,
and I'm happy for them both, but still..."

"Angel, angel,"
the demon smiled softly. "You worry too much!" she gently
took the papers from Kiwi's hands, straightened them lovingly, and
moved towards her desk, where she kept her Book. She picked it up
and carefully tucked the papers in at the end, nestling them between
the last page and the back cover. Closing the Book and setting it
reverently aside, she turned back to Kiwi, who was watching her with
an expression not unlike a pout.

"Now, didn't you
tell me you've been working on something? Is it finished? May I see
it?" the demon batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at the angel,
whose disapproving frown eased somewhat as she allowed herself to be
distracted. After rummaging briefly in her own pile of books and
papers, she came up with a sheaf and presented it quietly to the
demon, who smiled her thanks.

The two sat quietly for
some time while Apple read and Kiwi wrote. Eventually, the demon
finished reading the last page, and couldn't restrain herself from
laughing out loud.

"Angel, this is
brilliant! I can't wait!" she said, shuffling the papers about
in order to re-read a paragraph or two near the beginning.

Kiwi smiled a smile
that would have been called mischievous had it not been for the fact
that she was an angel; it wasn't in her nature to be mischevious,
after all. That was the demon's job.

[To be
continued in Book 3~]

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